Opinion No. (2005)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General DANIEL G. STONE Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE LYNN DAUCHER, MEMBER OF THE STATE ASSEMBLY, has requested an opinion on the following question: Are the Cable Television and Customer Service and Information Act and the Video Customer Service Act preempted by federal law insofar as they apply to providers of direct broadcast satellite services? CONCLUSION The Cable Television and Customer Service and Information Act and the Video Customer Service Act are not preempted by federal law insofar as they apply to providers of direct broadcast satellite services, except that the state may not authorize a local tax or fee upon such services. ANALYSIS We are called upon to consider the interplay between state and federal statutes regulating businesses that provide direct broadcast satellite ("DBS") services, also known as direct-to-home satellite services. The principal laws at issue are two California acts — the Cable Television and Customer Service and Information Act (Gov. Code, §§ 53054-53056; "Cable Act") 1 and the Video Customer Service Act (§§ 53088-53088.2; "Video Act"), and provisions in two federal acts — section…